issues as a new user

[leptophis]

hiya

 

please dont take this as a moan, I am new to animation master and am trying to get some answers to queries i have, I am used to lightwave. After purchasing animation master i have found some queries which i just cant find the answers to. I am in the uk, I hope some friendly americans can give me some advice. First of alli have a problem in that having done the tutorials on the website several functions seem to be different, on dragging a image onto an object, which is on the tutorial, I am asked if i want a rotoscope or layer, this doesent appear on the tutorial, in this it just moves across and you can move it around,

 

is there any way i can give a choreography a background image witout creating a 3d version, what i am trying to do is have a powerpoint presentation running with a character talking in the foreground in front of it.

 

Can u also advise, why the timeline seems to move when u add movements, so for instant, if i have a character walking which takes 200 frames which is fixed to a path, then i add a movement which i move to the end of the walk the whole scene extends but the walk then goes wrong, and the period before the character is literally sliding, if i then move the timeline on the path and walk, again it goes wrong, this started with the tutorial where you create a action like a wave and put that onto the end of a walk, but it doesent seem to do that for me. I would appreciate all your help

 

pete

[Rodney]

Hi Pete! Welcome to the forum.

 

I am new to animation master and am trying to get some answers to queries i have, I am used to lightwave. After purchasing animation master i have found some queries which i just cant find the answers to. I am in the uk, I hope some friendly americans can give me some advice.

 

We'll certainly try!

 

First of alli have a problem in that having done the tutorials on the website several functions seem to be different, on dragging a image onto an object, which is on the tutorial, I am asked if i want a rotoscope or layer, this doesent appear on the tutorial, in this it just moves across and you can move it around,

 

Yes, some functions will be different but not so different as to be too confusing.

For the most part the dialogue/menus will tell you whats going on.

 

When you say you've done all the tutorials on the website do you mean to say you've watched all the videos too? Hopefully you've seen both the manual (in at least PDF forma) as well as the video tutorials. I hope this is the case.

 

is there any way i can give a choreography a background image witout creating a 3d version, what i am trying to do is have a powerpoint presentation running with a character talking in the foreground in front of it.

 

Your easiest method is to select the Rotoscope option when it asks you.

Then consider turning two options on in the Rotoscopes properties panel.

The first thing is to make the Rotoscope unpickable so that you won't accidentally move or animate it in your scene. The second option would be to turn on the option to have the Roto display in the Alpha Channel (More on that aspect another day?).

 

 

Can u also advise, why the timeline seems to move when u add movements, so for instant, if i have a character walking which takes 200 frames which is fixed to a path, then i add a movement which i move to the end of the walk the whole scene extends but the walk then goes wrong, and the period before the character is literally sliding, if i then move the timeline on the path and walk, again it goes wrong, this started with the tutorial where you create a action like a wave and put that onto the end of a walk, but it doesent seem to do that for me. I would appreciate all your help

 

Seek out some of the tutorials Robert Holmen (Robcat here in the forum has posted). They will steer you right. There isn't enough information in your description to determine what you are doing wrong and it's easier to demonstrate how to do it right. The short answer is... the computer is doing what you are telling it to do. You'll need to investigate the options you have to choose from. Robert's tutorials explain this.

[leptophis]

I wondered if my description would baffle you lol, ok lets take a blank choreography, you then add a character, then add a path to be contrained to, then i add a walk, nice and simple so far andno problems the length of the scene represents the length of the walk, but lets say i have created an action like a wave, and add it in, what happens now is the scene, stretches, so i then move the timline of the wave so it only happens at the end of the scene, what seems to happy is the contraint to path is always the length of the scene even if i adjust the length of the walk using the timeline the character then slides the remainder once the walk timeline has ben completed.

 

any ideas on why i dont seem to be able to just add a image onto a object or character, like they describe and show on the videos, moving it around. for instance a pic of a flower on a vase, dragging the pic of the flower onto the vase, then moving it around, i am using version 13, but it doesent seem to work the same way.

 

sorry to be a pain, in lightwave i can created a extruded text object, simply by using modeller, and then typing the letters, does am have a similar function lol if not why not lol

 

thanks for your help

 

pete

[Rodney]

I thought that was what you were after. Thats a common question here in the Newbies forum.

 

Make sure you investigate the "Path Ease: Walk, then Wave" video tutorial at the very bottom of the page at:

http://www.hash.com/2007web/vm.htm

 

 

To really get lost in exploration of the subject:

Here is the search results with more information on the subject than you can shake a stick at

[Ganthofer]

First, the question about adding an image to a Model.

-PWS "project work space" > Objects > double click the Object/Model to open the Modeling Window

-display in Shaded(9) or Shaded/Wire(0) (pressing the top row of numbers, not the Number Key pad, those change the View as in top/bottom/right....)

-turn on "Display Decals" (Ctrl-D) the Icon is a Star in a red box.

-There are many choices on how to get the image into/onto the Model:

---Import the image into the Images folder in the Project

---Drag and Drop an image file from Windows Explorer onto the Images Folder in the Project.

---or browse for it once you perform the following step.

-Add an image to the model by one of the following ways:

---Drag and Drop the Image from the Images folder in the Project into the Modeling Window (this automatically makes it a Decal). Position/Resize the Decal and Right Click and select Apply.

---Drag and Drop the Image from the Images folder on to the Model Name in the Project under Objects. Choose Object Type appears and select Decal. Then Position/Resize the Decal and Right Click and select Apply.

---Right Click on the Model Name in the Project under Objects or Right Click in the Modeling Window and select New > Decal. If you have imported images, they are displayed in a list and you also have the option (at the bottom of the list) to browse for the image you want to use. Select the image Position/Resize the Decal and Right Click and select Apply.

 

Hopefully this will help.

Any questions, ask.

I did this in V13.0l - although, I don't think it has changed.

[Rodney]

any ideas on why i dont seem to be able to just add a image onto a object or character, like they describe and show on the videos, moving it around. for instance a pic of a flower on a vase, dragging the pic of the flower onto the vase, then moving it around, i am using version 13, but it doesent seem to work the same way.

 

Right clicking is your friend.

When applying an image as a Decal its not enough to place the image on top of the object.

You must Right Click and select "Apply".

This assuming that you are attempting to apply a Decal of course.

 

In the 'Demo video' Greg Rostami uses Patch Images which operates a little differently with no Right Clicking necessary. The 'trick' here is to make sure you don't deselect the group in the process of dragging and dropping the image onto the Group. Try this on a simple model like a vase or a simple group of patches until you get a feel for the process.

 

In a Modeling window...

Select part of the Model...

Drag an image onto the Group...

See the image apply.

 

Again, Right Clicking is your friend so Right Click and Make sure View/Render Mode/Shaded or Shaded Wired is selected. If not you won't see your image.

 

Looks like Glenn's got a nice Step by Step here for you to follow. Thanks Glenn!

[Ganthofer]

For 3D text, Right Click in a Modeling Window and select Plugins > Wizards > Fonts.

If you have your own custom TrueType Fonts, they should also be usable.

 

From there you will find many options to play with. There is also the Possibility to import AI files (Adobe Illustrator ?? I believe) by selecting AI (instead of Fonts).

[Rodney]

To follow up on Glenn's response about Text in Animation:Master, Holme's Bryant has several tutorials sure to answer your need and demonstrate the possibilities:

 

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31432

 

Up in the far right corner of the forum there is a Search function.

Typing 'Font Wizard' or 'AI Wizard' into a search will net you some useful information as well.

If you find something of use please share as other new users will benefit too.

[Gerry]

I just used the AI import wizard yesterday for the first time and discovered that the .AI file needs to be saved as Illustrator 8 format. A handy tip that I found by searching the forum.

[Rodney]

I just used the AI import wizard yesterday for the first time and discovered that the .AI file needs to be saved as Illustrator 8 format.

 

Gerry,

This just for completeness sake as some may think ONLY Illustrator 8 versions will work.

This is not the case from my experience.

I've alway used Illustrator 7 format (as exported from Coreldraw).

I think it was after version 8 that Adobe changed the AI format to be PDF compatible.

 

Edit: A quick test of 6 format works too.

The version of CorelDraw I'm using on this computer (v12) doesn't appear to support later formats.

[robcat2075]

Can u also advise, why the timeline seems to move when u add movements, so for instant, if i have a character walking which takes 200 frames which is fixed to a path, then i add a movement which i move to the end of the walk the whole scene extends but the walk then goes wrong, and the period before the character is literally sliding, if i then move the timeline on the path and walk, again it goes wrong, this started with the tutorial where you create a action like a wave and put that onto the end of a walk, but it doesent seem to do that for me. I would appreciate all your help

 

pete

 

 

 

Walk cycles try to run the length of your chor. When the chor changes length it affects the walk.

 

To stop that use the ease property in the path constraint for the character. Set 0% when you want the walk to start and 100% when you want it to stop.

[leptophis]

thanks for your help on the first part of my question been playing with the path details and got it working so thanks very much, will let you know how i get on in relation to the other parts lol

[Gerry]

I just used the AI import wizard yesterday for the first time and discovered that the .AI file needs to be saved as Illustrator 8 format.

 

Gerry,

This just for completeness sake as some may think ONLY Illustrator 8 versions will work.

This is not the case from my experience.

I've alway used Illustrator 7 format (as exported from Coreldraw).

I think it was after version 8 that Adobe changed the AI format to be PDF compatible.

 

Edit: A quick test of 6 format works too.

The version of CorelDraw I'm using on this computer (v12) doesn't appear to support later formats.

 

Good call Rod, of course I was meaning to say that you can't use anything later than version 8. My first attempt was to use files from CS3 and when it didn't work I went searching through the forums.

[leptophis]

yup the rotoscoping works well as well, is there a smooth way to move into one action to another, it seems to jump a bit from one to another,